Community Corner

Friends Rally For Greenport Grad Run Over By SUV

A caring community has come together to raise funds and defray mounting medical bills.

It was the late-night text that every parent dreads.

Greenport resident Garrett Moore was devastated on May 17 when he got a text just after midnight that his stepdaughter, Katherine Johnson, had been badly hurt.

The details were grim: Katie, 20, Moore said, had been running across the street with two friends in Pennsylvania, where she was studying makeup design, when she tripped and fell and was hit by an SUV.

But now, the community has come together to help: Faced with red tape and uncertainty over what expenses will be covered by insurance or Medicaid and mounting medical bills, the family is struggling to remain afloat.

Friends and co-workers at IGA set up collection jars for the family at both the store's locations while the Moores were in the hospital with Katie.

The outpouring of love from the community has warmed their hearts, Moore said. "I feel like I'm on 'Little House on the Prairie' and Michael Landon is directing. All you do is walk around with tissues."

Others have held bake sales to help raise funds.

Remembering the night when Katie was hurt, Moore described a parent's worst nightmare.

"Katie was lying on the ground – she was completely run over," Moore said. "It was horrifying."

Moore, a butcher at the Southold IGA, said he'd last heard from Katie a few minutes before her tragic accident. Shattered, Moore had to tell his wife, Katie's mom Margo. "That was the hardest part," Moore said. "How do I wake my wife and tell her? How do I do that? That was the beginning."

The couple, who share two boys and three girls in their blended family, rushed to Katie's bedside after she was extricated from under the vehicle and airlifted to a nearby hospital. Her parents stayed at the Ronald McDonald House.

Over a month later, Katie, who suffered facial fractures, a fractured skull and injuries to her pelvis and legs – she is not expected to walk again for at least three months – is finally back on the East End, recuperating at the Westhampton Care Center.

Although she's had reconstructive surgery, Moore said the road has been difficult for his stepdaughter. "She looks in the mirror and says, 'It's me, but it's not me,'" he said. "She's got cheekbones now that she didn't have before."

Still, Moore said, Katie is "an amazing person, a people person – she's got a great spirit."

Katie was studying at Tom Savini's Special Make-Up Effects Program, at the Douglas Education Center, when the accident occurred. She was run over by a Ford Explorer, Moore said.

Moore, a former Marine, and Katie's mom visit with her every night, providing love and support during the most difficult of times.

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"She asks me, 'Dad, why am I always crying?'" Moore said. He likened Katie's reaction to post-traumatic stress syndrome. "That doesn't just happen to military personnel," he said.

Moore, a former Marine, said he's tried to be strong in the face of tragedy. "I put on my Marine Corps face," he said. "You have to have good spirits, no matter what," Moore said, adding that he learned critical life lessons in the Marines. "You learn to persevere and adapt to whatever situation you get into; you have to push your feelings down and out so you can stay focused. But sometimes, I'll pull off to the side of the road and have a good 20-minute cry."

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Still, Moore said, the love he and Katie's mom share sustains them through their darkest hours. The two met at work – Margo works at the Greenport IGA – after Katie's dad died suddenly at 45.

Katie, he added, was also one of the top three in her class before the accident waylaid her -- she plans to head back to school as soon as possible. 

Moore and his wife want to thank the community members who have come together out of love for Katie, organizing bake sales and other fundraisers. 

"Everyone knows Katie in this town," he said.


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